Orionids in the context of "Halley's Comet"

Orion is a prominent set of stars visible during winter in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the 88 modern constellations; it was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century AD/CE astronomer Ptolemy. It is named after a hunter in Greek mythology.

Orion is most prominent during winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, as are five other constellations that have stars in the Winter Hexagon asterism. Orion's two brightest stars, Rigel (β) and Betelgeuse (α), are both among the brightest stars in the night sky; both are supergiants and slightly variable. There are a further six stars brighter than magnitude 3.0, including three making the short straight line of the Orion's Belt asterism. Orion also hosts the radiant of the annual Orionids, the strongest meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet, and the Orion Nebula, one of the brightest nebulae in the sky.

The Eta Aquariids are a meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet. The shower is visible from about April 19 to about May 28 each year with peak activity on or around May 5. Unlike most major annual meteor showers, there is no sharp peak for this shower, but rather a broad maximum with good rates that last approximately one week centered on May 5. The meteors we currently see as members of the Eta Aquariid shower separated from Halley's Comet hundreds of years ago. The current orbit of Halley's Comet does not pass close enough to the Earth to be a source of meteoric activity.

Eta Aquariid outbursts occurred in 74 BCE, 401, 443, 466, 530, 839, 905, 927, and 934. The Eta Aquariid meteor shower was the first to be linked to Halley's comet and is usually two to three times stronger than the October Orionids. The Eta Aquariids are the third strongest annual meteor shower observable at Earth and occur at the descending node of Halley's comet. The descending node reached its closest distance to Earth around 500. Currently Earth approaches Halley's orbit at a distance of 0.065 AU (9.7 million km; 6.0 million mi; 25 LD) during the Eta Aquariids.